Under the Cerulean Sea
by Bad Luck Novelist
Summary: When Cerulean Gym is in financial trouble, Misty puts forth a plan to save her gym...and to give her best friend a chance to see what is right in front of his eyes. PokemonThe Little Mermaid crossover.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo. The Little Mermaid and all of its characters are copyright to Disney.

A/N: Yes, Yes, I realize I have two fan fictions...no, three that need finishing, one that needs starting (DG 2, mainly)...yet here I am doing a Pokemon/The Little Mermaid thing. This'll probably get finished quicker. :/ Then I'll work on DG 2, when I have the patience for it..which I don't have after working on NaNo still.

As it is, I don realize someone did this for...Palletshipping, I think, which makes this amusing that I'm doing it. But I didn't even bother reading the other one when I saw it was for TLM, since I knew before then I'd be writing this and had already started planning for it, so I didn't want anything in it to leak over to this because of reading it. So, if it holds any similarity, it is totally coincidental. And before someone says I have no imagination doing this..damn straight. I'm not doing this to be original or any such thing. I'm doing it to try to do a twist on it (if at all possible), and because I feel like it. I'm not trying to impress. I'm writing it for me, and putting it here for anyone that would enjoy it to be able to enjoy it.

For now, I give you the Prologue of Under the Cerulean Sea.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. RIVAL. SHIPPING. Not Advance. And I repeat, NOT ADVANCE. And for good measure...**NOT**. **ADVANCE.** I can understand it being mistaken for Advance if I DID NOT SAY IT WASN'T IN MY WARNINGS..but, gods. Read what I write in my warnings, I don't put warnings for my health. That doesn't go to those that read them and understand it already, you get a cookie. XD

- - -

- Prologue -

"Miss Waterflower! Everything has been set up!" The red haired gym leader smiled at the young boy, and he ran off when she shooed him away quickly. She couldn't believe how fast time had gone by; it'd been about two weeks since she had called her sisters – all three of which where vacationing somewhere in Hoenn – and already everything had been set up for the movie she was to direct. Her, a director!

Of course, it was only to save the gym from going totally broke, as without the 'Sensational Sisters' around they had no source of income besides what little they were given from the Pokemon League – _that_ made her scuff, considering they should be paid handsomely considering a few hundred dollars was needed for the upkeep of the pokemon alone - and the gym was falling into disrepair. Only one problem resurfaced, and it was one Misty was sure would be fixed soon enough.

She had no actors. _Well, I obviously can't do all of the parts myself. And if no one comes in time..._ Misty's eyes clouded over worriedly; she had, of course, called Ash right after talking to Daisy. Pleading for him to get as many people as possible to come help her, and he had assured her that he'd do what he could.

No one had shown up. She glanced over at the ship that was docked in the small harbor, the sails loosely waving with the wind; she was glad one of the friendly neighbors had offered it to her for free "What's my part?" a man's voice asked lightly behind her.

Misty jumped, spinning around to look at the intruder of her thoughts; a smile broke out across her face in delight. "Ash, you made it!" she said, and he laughed.

"Didn't I say I would?" Ash asked, and Pikachu poked his head up from behind Ash's ankle, squealing and trotting to the gym leader happily. "And I did get a few to help. They'll all probably be here sometime today if the weather stays good."

"That's wonderful!" Leading the way toward the gym, Misty grinned. She never thought she'd be so happy to see the pokemon trainer; she also never thought she'd be depending on him for so much help, but she didn't wish to dwell on the thought. "I just hope this works out."

"What's it for anyway?" Turning his head, Ash looked at her curiously, hands tucked in his pants pockets. "You said it was urgent, but...you never said why."

"Ah..." The smile turned into a frown quickly; with a sigh, she shook her head sadly. "My sisters are gone and I can't do the water shows anymore, not alone...so the gym is breaking down. I don't have enough money to keep running it, and I have to do something to bring some in, and this is the only thing that'll do it right now and quickly."

"Ha, no sweat. We'll make this a hit, and then everyone will want to come here _just_ to see the gym and you." Pikachu nodded in agreement. "What're you doing, anyway? What part?"

"I'm...I don't know, to be honest. I don't even know what I'm assigning you as yet. Though it should be a big part, just so you don't complain to me." Ash pulled a face.

"I don't complain," he protested, and Misty snorted.

"Unless you get the ego stroke you want, you complain. Complain, complain, complain!" Misty taunted haughtily, and Ash rolled his eyes, gently kicking Pikachu when the rodent laughed at them loudly.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not." Ash crossed his arms, forcing a scowl, and tilted his chin up. "Hmmph. I'm not that-"

"Arrogant? Yes you are." Misty smirked when the dark haired man growled. "Oh, you aren't that angry. You're starting to sound like an Arcanine."

"All because of you," he shot, and she smiled.

"I'm honored I can make you more like a Pokemon." Ash stared at her in blatant shock as she left him outside.

- - -


	2. Chapter One: Actor Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo. The Little Mermaid and all of its characters are copyright to Disney.

A/N: Aha, this is the quickest I've updating in a while with a brand new fan fiction...aha. There really isn't to say, besides that I'll most likely be gone and out of state most of the week. Fun times are to be had by all when family is moving.

And I need to address an issue with one of the reviews here, since it's anon and I can't reply to those as I would normally. No, it isn't AAML. I'm finding it quite amusing that someone thinks it was going to be, considering, but I can see why that would be assumed, considering how the summary alone sounds. It actually gave me an idea for this fan fiction, and I think I'll go through with it. So, I must thank Sumi.

So, in a way, you can say it is one-sided AAML, along with RivalSibling...which is what a few of my fan fictions have turned out to be. Go figure.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. RIVAL. SIBLING. SHIPPING. Not Advance. And I repeat, NOT ADVANCE. And for good measure...**NOT**. **ADVANCE.** I can understand it being mistaken for Advance if I DID NOT SAY IT WASN'T IN MY WARNINGS..but, gods. Read what I write in my warnings, I don't put warnings for my health. That doesn't go to those that read them and understand it already, you get a cookie. XD

- - -

- Chapter One: Actor Arrival -

It was the times that they had no money that Misty was happy that she was paid to live in the gym, and not that she paid for it.

She heard car doors slam outside, bringing her out of her mental bubble that was showing her the image of the building falling apart from disrepair, and she trotted out of her room. "They're here!" she hollered when she sprinted past the gym's massive pool, seeing Ash standing on one of the tiles that floated atop the water, the pokemon practicing and moving along with his orders.

He looked over at her; with a smile, he nodded, giving a gesture to stop the creatures around him, and took to hoping across the tiles until he could finally feel solid ground under his feet. "I told you it'd be sometime today," he said, following her out of the large front doors to see the parade in front of the Gym, doors opening and voices filtering around, "Brock!"

"Hey, man!" The fairly tanned Gym Leader stepped out of one of the vehicles, receiving an embrace from Misty and a handshake from Ash, "I heard the gym was in trouble. What's goin' on?"

"I need money...so I'm making you an actor," the red headed woman replied softly, her eyes brightening as several familiar faces started appearing around her, "Duplica! Professor Oak! It is so good to see you!"

"I couldn't ignore it when Ashy-boy called saying he needed someone to help out," the beauty said, and Misty rolled her eyes; she knew exactly what had occurred there, too.

"He gave you the puppy eyes, didn't he?" Misty asked, and Duplica nodded, laughing; When she turned her stare onto Ash, he went a soft shade of red, which went even darker when another male came up behind her.

"Had to use a child's trick to get what you wanted?" A glance back showed Gary Oak, his arms crossed across his chest, and a smirk on his smug face; it melted into a warm smile when Ash made a face at him. "Relax. I'm not here for a war. Would I let Sis come if I were?"

Misty looked between the two rivals; at the mention of the younger girl, Ash had brightened up immediately, his eyes widening. "Your sister?" he asked, his voice coming out as a squeak, "May?"

"I wasn't aware I had another sister. Yes, that would be her." The expression Ash had would have been amusing to Misty if she wasn't worrying over the state of her gym as she heard the sign above the door creak with the wind; to the others though, it was just that.

"I haven't been able to talk to her in quite a few days," the trainer mused, shaking his head to clear his thoughts, and smiled. "Where's she at?"

"In the car, of course. Has to look pretty for our future Pokemon Master," Gary replied, giving the group a humored smile. Professor Oak joined him in the humor, his eyes sparkling.

"I hope you didn't intend for her to sit around and do nothing? She's going to be crying to help the rest of us now that she's here-" the elder started started when Ash shouted, jumping back toward the gym when a girl bounded toward him, leaping up to get him by the neck. There were snickers abound as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Why didn't you call? I've told you before if you needed anything you could ask!" she scowled, giving him a look until he finally gave her an apologetic hug, before moving on to hug Misty, "And the same goes for you! Why didn't you call me either?"

"I've been trying to plan everything. That's why I made Ash get you all together," Misty said warily. She actually was quite tired; she had spent countless nights planning out the days, the scenes, the props and where everything would be shot. "How're you, May?"

"I suppose I'm alright. I could be better, but isn't that what everyone could say?" she said, a smile flitting across her face, "So, what are we all doing?"

"Yes, yes. I need to be back at the lab in a week or two. There's matters to be tended to, you know." Professor Oak patted his grandson on the shoulder, whispering something into his ear, and the younger man nodded before running off. "I can get any pokemon that we need, if you just request it."

"Thank you professor," both Misty and Ash said, giving each other baffled looks when they realized they had answered simultaneously. Misty cleared her throat. "Why don't you come in? I'm sure something could be made for all of us to eat!"

- - -

"I nearly have all of them figured out, I think," Misty said, popping the fork into her mouth. Dinner hadn't taken long to make, not with so many hands helping to make it; a table had been set up that was big enough for all of them, and everyone was talking amongst themselves contentedly. "I just need to figure out Ariel, Ursula, the chef, and the maid. I don't think we have enough people. We're two short."

"Why don't you play Ariel?" Brock asked, getting nods of agreement from those that had even vaguely heard the suggestion, and she frowned, "You have the red hair, and you are the one in charge of this, after all."

"I'm thinking about it, but I don't know. I think I'm going to wait until I have the other parts filled before deciding what to do," she replied, picking at her dinner; fact of the matter was, she really didn't know what she wanted to do. Giving them a smile to hide her unease, she looked around. "I do hope everyone gets a part they are happy with."

"When are you going to tell us them?" Gary asked, and most of the eyes fell on her. It was only then that she noticed a few people missing; two to be precise, but she guessed it might not be wise to bring it to attention. She took a breath to ease herself.

"No later then tomorrow, I'm guessing," she said, returning to her meal, "Most of them are done, so...it's really only a matter of finding two more actors, and that I am sure I can do in a short period of time. Thankfully those two I most likely won't need until a little later."

- - -

"Did you hear that?" Long red hair bobbing, the woman bounced on her heels, crouched down below the window. "This could be my chance for stardom!"

"Aw, Jess, you want to act with the twerps?" James asked lamely. Without fail, he ended up flying several feet away as Jessie smacked him across the face, her eyes sparkling dangerously.

"Don't you see? This is our chance! We'll be rich and famous! Why should they get all the glory?" she asked. Meowth watched them from his spot beside one of the bushes.

"It means food." At the sound of the three words, James looked up excitedly; Jessie turned to look at him, and he gave her a feline grin. "Food and a bed!"

"Where do we sign up?" James asked finally, crawling back over as he favored the red mark on his cheek, and Jessie laughed haughtily. She looked back toward the window, a smirk appearing on her face.

"Oh, you'll see."

- - -

When she was able to excuse herself from the table, Misty walked out into the hall, listening until she heard the sound of voices in the pool area. The door into it was already opened, giving a full view of the massive stands and of the water itself. She shifted back out of view when she saw that Ash and May were sitting at the edge of the pool. She could hear exactly what they were saying; apparently they were catching up on time loss, and on how the training had been going as Ash kept pointing at various pokemon he had let out.

She shrank back more when Pikachu peered over at her, small eyes blinking curiously, and waited until the rodent went back to playing with its fellows. Giggling floated out, and she moved back to look; Ash had stood, striking the pose he used to when he won a battle or a badge, or even had attained a new pokemon. She smiled when May tripped the trainer up, watching as he wobbled precariously until finally falling into the still water.

"Don't hurt the pokemon, Ash. We need them," Misty said, finally stepping onto the tile floor. She smiled. "Enjoying yourselves? Everyone else is in the dining room."

"Sorry, Misty. It was just too crowded in there," May replied when the other girl came up beside her, both of them stepping back when Ash resurfaced, his hair hanging in wet strands in his face, a scowl in place.

"You little-"

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make that double!"

The three stared at each other; the older two groaned, the youngest giving them strange looks. "Who's that?" she asked, and Ash could only slam a hand to his forehead.

"A pair of annoyances is who," he said, climbing out as Jessie and James appeared in the bleachers, wearing the most outrageous costumes they had ever seen. "What the hell do they want?"

"To protect the world from bad acting!" Jessie sang, starting her graceful walk down the steps, with James following beside her.

"To unite all people on our stage!"

"To denounce the evils of bad lighting and effects!"

"To become the stars that we can be!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket speaks their lines at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fail!"

"Meowth! That's right!" the cat announced, coming up between them. Silence filled the arena as they finished, posed in front of the trio; it took several moments for the scene to register, and when it did, they started laughing at them. Jessie put her hands on her hips, growling.

"What are you laughing at?" she hissed, "We're serious!"

"Oh, please. Who says we're doing anything that involves you?" Misty said, and Team Rocket looked at each other, then at her.

"You did. You're making a movie, and we want parts in it!" James yelled, and at the announcement, the pair started acting out random scenes. Ash, May, and Misty gaped at them, unsure whether they should inch out, or hear them out.

"Fine, fine, just stop! You can have parts," the gym leader conceded, and the pair relaxed, standing quietly then. She _did_ need two more, anyway.

"What parts then?" Jessie asked, and Misty ran the remaining characters through her mind, frowning.

"I'm unsure. Everyone is going to be informed tomorrow," she said, sighing, "so you can wait until then, just like they are."

"This should be good," Ash said under his breath, and Pikachu snickered at him.

- - -


	3. Chapter Two: Who's Ariel?

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo. The Little Mermaid and all of its characters are copyright to Disney.

A/N: This is shoooooort, but meh. Next chapter we start getting into the actual filming and such, so it should start lengthening and getting a tad more interesting. XD We'll see

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. RIVAL. SIBLING. SHIPPING. Not Advance. And I repeat, NOT ADVANCE. And for good measure...**NOT**. **ADVANCE.** I can understand it being mistaken for Advance if I DID NOT SAY IT WASN'T IN MY WARNINGS..but, gods. Read what I write in my warnings, I don't put warnings for my health. That doesn't go to those that read them and understand it already, you get a cookie. XD

- - -

- Chapter Two: Who's Ariel? -

Misty smiled; she was resting comfortably in her bed, the various plushes, posters, and other memorabilia of water pokemon surrounding her. It had been awkward going to bed. She had had to explain why Team Rocket was to stay with them, and then to duck away before anyone could ask her about the news.

Her smile disappeared then. She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling; as much thought as she had put into the parts, Misty still didn't know who to put in the remaining roles. Common sense said that she could take the lead role, and she considered it a good possibility. Closing her eyes again, she imagined herself as the mermaid; of the sand and the water, and of the...

The redhead sighed. "I should take the role," she said to herself, propping herself up to get up. She pushed the sheets off before finally climbing out, her pajamas wrinkled. "It _is_ my role."

Misty couldn't help but wonder if she was making a wise choice.

- - -

Breakfast was quickly finished, and once everyone was seated in the main room of the Gym, Misty took to standing in front of them nervously. Most of them were quiet, waiting patiently for her to compose herself; the few exceptions were Jessie and James, who were squabbling over some trivial matter like they seemed to do quite often.

Another exception was Ash. Once again his mouth was running, no doubt with another retelling, as May and Gary listened with interest. Misty was amazed his vocal cords were holding up to the abuse they were taking; she knew he tended to talk a lot, but he was beating his own record! Chewing on her lip, she turned to the other awaiting people. "Well, I'm sure you all are thinking about chaining me up just so you can torture the list out of me," she started, "so I'll just get on with this. Professor, I've decided that I'm going to make you King Triton."

As she spoke, she handed each person paperback books, their names scribbled on the covers. "Duplica, you'll be one of the sisters."

"Gary, I'm making you Grimsby. Just don't make him too...ah...arrogant, would you? You're supposed to be _nice_, but somewhat snobbish," Misty said, and the brown haired man turned to stare at her.

"Me, arrogant?" he asked, and he snickered when May made a sound.

"Pfft. You are," she replied, and smiled when Ash reached around her to smack Gary, and the two men swatted at each other. "Ash! Brother! You're hitting _me_!"

There was chaos as Misty called Seel over, snapping her fingers, and the two were silenced as they were Doubleslapped by the the creature. "We're sorry," they said, whimpering down when she glared at them.

"Look at you! Can I now finish?" she asked, clearing her throat when they gave no reply. "Good then. Brock, you're the chef, Louis. You like cooking anyway." A glance down at the paper, and she paled; there were four parts left, three of them the ones that she was chewing over at that very moment. She swallowed hard, before looking up at the other red head in the room, and whistled for silence.

Jessie crossed her arms, 'hrrmph'ing at James. "Well, what's my part?" she asked, irritation evident in her voice until Misty beamed at her, "It should be a good one!"

"Oh, it is. I assure you, it is." Misty pulled the script out, and smiled innocently. "You'll be playing Ursula."

There was a moment as it sank in, and Jessie fumed. "The...what? Ursula? The Sea Witch?!" she shouted, "That cannot be right! I thought I'd be playing as-"

"You aren't touching that role," the water gym leader said calmly, "as you don't fit it. You'll do fine as Ursula. Now do sit down so I can continue."

The formality in her voice brought about uneasy looks from all, and even Jessie's wrath was tempered as Misty checked the names off. There were three remaining – Ariel, Eric, and Carlotta. A glance over showed that Ash was getting slowly more impatient. "Ash, if you don't know your part," Misty said, "I'd have to say that you are slow. Only _Eric_ is left."

"Really?" Misty rolled her eyes, smiling, until she noticed the uncomfortable look he exchanged with May; she frowned then, looking down at her sheet, and sighed.

"You better do a good job with your part," she warned, and gave him his book, "because...because..."

Shaking her head, she thrust the book for Ariel out. "Because I'm playing Carlotta, and May is playing Ariel," she finished quickly. Misty refused to give herself time to falter; as much as she wanted the part, and to have an excuse to work so closely with her best friend, she knew it was the best course to take. "And I'm going to be there all the time, and I don't want to see you muck it up."

The discomfort changed to embarrassment then when both realized what it meant to be the lead roles, and a red blush appeared across both their faces as they glanced at each other again. "I'll...try not to," Ash finally said weakly.

"Good," she said, winking when Gary coughed to hide his sniggering; realizing he knew what she was doing, she smiled. Even if she didn't feel good doing it, she was going to make her sacrifice worth it!

- - -

"I had thought you'd put yourself in that spot," Brock remarked, standing at the pool's edge; he watched Misty as she called for the pokemon to continue their laps. The Krabby, Goldeen, and Huntails nodded to her, diving under with quiet splashes. Misty turned to him.

"I was thinking about it," she said, "but...I don't know. I don't think he'd enjoy the idea of it." Misty rubbed a hand across her face, getting the water out of her eyes. "Ash is spending more time talking to May or Gary then I've ever seen. The most I've seen of him is after they go to bed, and before you all showed up he was talking to me."

A sad look fell over her face. "Brock," she asked, "do you think he actually does like her?"

The elder Gym Leader could only shrug. "It's hard to tell really. He's been friends with them a lot longer then he's been with us. It could just be how they've always acted together, and it's so rare that they see each other on top of that." He smiled comfortingly. "And if he does, it just means you've given a good opportunity to him."

Her eyes wondered to Goldeen, who was nudging at her ankle; Misty matched his smile. "I think he does. I just hope I didn't mess it up for them with this."

"It won't be. We start filming tomorrow morning?" he asked, and she nodded.

- - -


	4. Chapter Three: Begin Filming

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo. The Little Mermaid and all of its characters are copyright to Disney.

A/N: Yay, the chapters are lengthening, slowly but steadily! This is actually a peculiar chapter, due to the fact that it decided to veer off in a direction I seriously had not been expecting at all. So, I'll have to deal with it in the next chapter. You'll probably be able to tell where it took off on it's own. XD

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. RIVAL. SIBLING. SHIPPING. Not Advance. And I repeat, NOT ADVANCE. And for good measure...**NOT**. **ADVANCE.** I can understand it being mistaken for Advance if I DID NOT SAY IT WASN'T IN MY WARNINGS..but, gods. Read what I write in my warnings, I don't put warnings for my health. That doesn't go to those that read them and understand it already, you get a cookie. XD

- - -

- Chapter Three: Begin Filming -

"Quiet on the set!" Misty shouted, hushing them as the hired camera man was panning over the still ocean and the sky. There was a nervous excitement on the boat; they had set sail for the very first scene, and so far they had good weather for the filming. The condition of the actors, however...

Ash sat huddled up, his back against the railing and his head bowed; his eyes were darting as he frantically read over the lines, his face pale. Misty frowned at him, then at the others; most of them were in a similar state of panic, and she wondered if it might have been better to wait a day to give them time to learn their lines. "Never mind them," Gary said, his gaze following her line of sight, "they _obviously_ didn't prepare properly."

"I didn't give everyone enough time to. I just threw the scripts at them and expected filming today." she pointed out, "Maybe I should hold off until tomorrow..."

With a smile, he swatted her with his script, tapping it with a hand. "It'll be fine. It's relatively simple stuff today. It's only them being twitchy that might be a problem," the brunette man said as the camera man motioned to them that he was ready for the scene.

"I just hope they can manage. Ash has never acted for a part like this in his life," the Gym Leader sighed, before shouting at the restless cast, "Prepare everyone! Take your places!"

The few odd men that had been brought in for the background parts came forward, going on about the business of a sailor as they sang, "I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue and it's hey to the starboard, heave ho. Look out, lad, a mermaid be waitin' for you in mysterious fathoms below!"

Misty watched from behind the camera, chewing on her bottom lip, as Ash walked across the ship's deck, approaching Gary; the latter was leaning on the railing, his back to the other man. "Isn't this great?" Ash asked, smiling slightly as he did the same, the wind blowing softly, "The salty sea air...the wind...blowing in your face...a perfect day to be at sea!"

The redhead would have slammed her head into the railing if it wouldn't disrupt the scene anymore then it already had been. _Dammit, Ash. Remember your lines! We're going to need to redo it if you keep this up!_ She thought impatiently as Gary leaned further out over the side, looking at the water as if he was about to be sick.

"Oh yes...delightful...ugh!" Gary leaned even more, making gagging noises as Ash turned away when one of the sailors sighed happily.

"A fine strong wind and a following sea," they said, "King Triton must be in a friendly-type mood." Ash gave them a curious look, his eyes widening slightly, taking a few steps toward the working men.

"...King Triton?" he asked, and a second older sailor laughed.

"Why, ruler of the merpeople, lad!" There were nods of agreement from many of the other men. "Thought every good sailor knew about him."

Gary groaned as he straightened up, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Merpeople!" he scowled, in part to the fact that he momentarily forgot the name of the character, "...Eric, pay no attention to this nautical nonsense!"

The second sailor pulled one of the fish out of the net, and waved it at Gary. "But it ain't nonsense, it's the truth!" Ash looked between the two as the elder spoke. "I'm tellin' you, down in the depths o' the ocean they live." His movements became frantic and wild, and the fish flopped away and over the edge, falling the long distance to the water.

As the camera man moved the camera back towards the water, the sailors continued singing. "Heave, ho, heave, ho. In mysterious fathoms belooow..."

Misty motioned for the underwater camera to be turned on, and on a small television she saw what it saw; it focused in on the fish as it squirmed, sighing in relief as it was enveloped in the water and swam off into the ocean. She smiled. "That was better then I thought. A few more pauses then I liked, but it's workable," she said, getting a relieved smile from Ash and a smug one from Gary, "It'll probably take a few minutes before the camera down in the water will be ready for the next scene, so let's take a rest. We can watch it when it's time on the TV."

- - -

May took a deep breath, then another; it was a queer thing being able to breath underwater, and she was amazed her grandfather had been able to find a way to enable them to do so. It had been a simple process, and had only needed a few special berries to make the drink.

That, and the use of a few pokemons' abilities.

The camera man seemed less then thrilled with the idea of being underwater for so long, as he fiddled with the setting on the machine; ignoring the people flitting around to adjust to the cold water and to using fins rather then legs – the costumes almost made it feel like they had the former rather then the latter – she poked her head up in front of the camera, smiling when she heard a voice pipe up from the piece in her ear. "Stop playing with the camera, May. I don't want to have to come down there," Misty scolded, and then there was a nervous laugh from someone else.

Misty shushed whoever it was, and the brunette distinctly heard her tell whoever it was to stop bleeding on her ship unless he wanted to be thrown overboard. "Who's hurt?" she asked, a few bubbles escaping from her mouth.

"Oh, it's nothing. Ash is just having a bit of a...problem is all. He'll be fine." There was more snickering until Misty finally sighed. "If you all are ready, I'd like to start on the second scene. I want to get it done before lunch."

There was a rush as the extras took off. May sank down so she could watch as they turned back around, quickly swimming back past them, some of them humming and the others singing softly. The camera man swung around to catch them disappearing into a make-shift castle; it was cheap looking at best, and the only reason Misty had allowed it to be used was because it could be edited to look better later on.

The second camera was switched on inside the building of sorts to show the concert hall, which had various 'merpeople' inside it, awaiting the show they had arrived to see. A horsea flitted in to much applause, until it had ran into the podium; wincing, May rushed forward to help it, rubbing the sore spot it had until Misty made a noise. "Try that again," she said warily.

Returning to her place behind the camera person, May sat on the sandy ground. Horsea repeated the process, carefully swimming into the hall and toward the podium, and patting the scroll that it had carried. One of the men in the audience softly cleared his throat to do the voice of the creature. "Ahem. I give to you, his royal highness, Kiiiing Triton!" he shouted as Professor Oak entered, waving to the cheering crowd; the applause had gotten louder when he approached, finally sitting on the thrown.

Horsea then moved back. "And presenting the distinguished court composer, Horatio Thelonious Ignatius Crustaceous Sebastian!" it said as Krabby hurried in, the applause dying down. Looking slightly miffed by this, the crab-like pokemon approached the professor. The old man thought for a minute, and smiled. "I'm really looking forward to this performance, Sebastian," he said, and the krabby did what looked like a slight bow. "Oh, Your Majesty, this will be the finest concert I have ever conducted. Your daughters...they shall be spectacular!" another male said, this one hiding behind May.

"Yes, and especially my little Ariel," Oak stated, his voice proud, and Krabby backed up to go to the podium, backing off the arm of the chair and falling. There was a moment as Misty growled, and once again asked for a repeat; Krabby inched back up.

"This is getting old, fast," the redhead said, getting a giggle out of May, and then Ash suddenly spoke up.

"You were asking for this," he replied, then there was the sound of flesh hitting more flesh, and his pained groan as Krabby turned to go to the podium.

"Yes, yes, she has the most beautiful voice..." Jumping down, Krabby made a face that was as close to a scowl as it could get. "Now if only she'd show up for rehearsals once in a while!"

At the podium, Krabby looked around. Duplica, along with several other girls – either ones that had showed up that morning or the night before, such as with Erica, Sabrina, and many other female gym leaders – waited for their cue, a few eyeing the only one of them that didn't really belong – James. He was staring at the shells that acted as a top, his eyes slightly wide, and he did a twirl; they shook their heads until Misty yelled at them to continue. Krabby tapped a stick on the podium, and they began their song:

"Ah, we are the daughters of Triton.

Great father who loves us and named us well.

Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Atina, Adella, Allana."

At this point each one had done a solo note when their 'name' was sang, and they danced around the shell that was waiting in the center of their semi-circle. May leaned forward expectantly as the song progressed.

"And then there is the youngest in her musical debut,

our seventh little sister, we're presenting her to you.

To sing a song Sebastian wrote, her voice is like a bell.

She's our sister, Ari-"

When the shell opened with a creak and bubbles came out, they screamed when it became obvious that it was unoccupied. Professor Oak rose out of his chair, the triton in his hand. "Ariel!" he shouted angrily.

Even May winced at it. There was cheering through the earpieces as those above the water watched the screen, and the actors smiled. "That's good. Great! We can have lunch then, get up here!" Misty announced, and they were more then happy to obey.

There was a rush as they surfaced, approaching the sandy shore. May looked up when she saw one of the shadows from a figure on the ship moved, and saw Ash leaning over the railing with Misty and Gary, Brock not being far away either. "I go next!" she yelled up to them, and there were four grins then as she joined them at the dock, inching up on the shore until she could get the tail off, having to hold her bikini bottom up as she pulled the costume down. "I need to get my script again-"

"You'll do fine," Gary said, helping her up. May used the towel Misty tossed to her to start drying off.

"I just hope I remember my lines." Ash crossed his arms, shaking his head with a smile.

"If I could remember mine," he stated, "then you can remember yours."

Misty gave Ash a mildly sardonic look, an elegant eyebrow raising. "Oh really? That's funny, coming from the one that seemed to be taking an awful lot of pauses between each word...seemingly trying to remember what the hell he was supposed to be saying to start with?"

"Shaddup." Ash turned a vivid shade of red. "I remembered my lines just fine, thank you."

Glowering at May's giggling, he stalked off angrily, muttering. Misty rolled her eyes when May went silent, eyes widening slightly. "He'll get over it. His poor widdle pwide is just bruised is all," she remarked at the younger girl's inquiring look, taking to walking back up the shore.

- - -

Lunch was a messy, jovial affair. Most of the water-bound actors had not bothered to change into dry clothing, opting to eat in their bathing suits and towels. The food itself was nothing special, but most of them ate with gusto the ham sandwiches laid out before them.

Misty took a bite out of her second sandwich as she looked over at her companions thoughtfully. "Well," she started when Ash looked up from the script book, "for someone that can remember his lines so well, you certainly are studying that rather hard."

With a meek look towards the other end of the table to see who was sitting where, he then turned to glare at Misty. She put her hands up. "So, you still have your panties in a twist over that. What is your problem this afternoon? You've been acting funny ever since we stopped filming for lunch."

Carefully dog-earing the page he would need, Ash shut the cover quietly. "I'm trying to do this right. I'm trying not to make a total fool of myself, and-"

She sighed. "And I teased you about your lines. Ash, you're doing _fine_." Pushing her plate away, Misty took the script to glance at it herself. "It was only the first scene. None of us are professionals; this is just a local movie to try to make a few bucks for the gym. There are going to be rough spots and re-shoots. You're going to forget your lines, and I'll have to remind you what they are. That's all part of the experience, I think."

His eyes narrowing to slits, he looked back toward the other end of the table. "I don't want to mess up, is all."

A dawning look appeared on her face, her blue eyes gaining a slightly sad glimmer. Wiping a hand across her eyes, she gave a slightly knowing smile. "Ah, so that's it then."

Ash yet again spun around to regard her with idle curiosity. "What then?" he inquired coolly, getting a harsh laugh in reply.

"You are too transparent." Misty replied, the smile turning into an evil grin, "You want to impress your little girlfriend!"

He twitched. "She isn't my..._girlfriend_," he growled. Misty nudged him, getting a mildly irritated scowl from him rather then the smile she was hoping for.

"Ash-"

"I'm going to get changed," he said quietly, standing up abruptly and walking off, his hands shoved in his pockets. She sighed as a few heads turned to regard her with questioning eyes, and she could only shrug.

"Why is he being so sensitive?" Misty asked, rubbing her eyes; at the gesture, Brock moved down a seat, pushing the scripts out of the way. "This hurts so much..."

"It's all nerves, I imagine." he assured her, "You know how it goes. He'll go, sulk, and then apologize later once he's cooled down."

"Have I ever gotten this stingy about him?" she questioned. Brock watched her, scrutinizing her for a few seconds before giving a reply of any kind.

"A fair few times. Just back off for awhile, and he should calm down quick enough." Misty groaned.

- - -


End file.
